Dutch gambling regulator clarifies cooling-off period rules
KSA says it expects 90 licence applications with process to be launched on 1 July 2020
Operators seeking a Dutch remote gambling licence must not have actively targeted the Dutch market in the two years prior to their licence application, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has confirmed.
The Dutch gambling regulator published a draft rule on Friday, clarifying the conditions of the ‘cooling-off period’ built in to the Remote Gambling Act.
The clause was included in the online gaming legislation back in February but the language left some operators unsure how to interpret the rule.
The regulator said the “leniency” of the cooling-off period terms was temporary and expires 1 July 2021 – one year from the date operators will be first able to apply for licences.
As a result, if operators are still actively targeting the Dutch market from 1 July this year, they will be locked out of the regulated market indefinitely.
“An important objective of the Remote Gambling Act is to create a safe, controlled range of online gambling,” the KSA said. “Without any leniency for operators who have violated the law in the past, this will not take place. By offering temporary leniency, with a defined boundary, this will be the case. After that it is no longer necessary to be flexible with the rules.”
Targeting the Netherlands, under the KSA’s prioritisation criteria, includes using Dutch language on a site, a .nl extension or Dutch in its advertising.
Sites with typical Dutch terms or symbols (including windmills, clogs and tulips) or using the “usual” method of payment in the Netherlands such as iDEAL, are also deemed to be targeted at Dutch consumers.
KSA programme manager Amida Michael has said she expects about 90 permits to be issued to operators by the KSA’s stated opening time for the Dutch market of 2021. Likening the situation in the Netherlands to the recent Swedish market licensing, Michael said the prospective market can be divided into three parts.
“One third is already an experienced online provider and are already operating in other markets. One third is currently already a provider of land-based gaming in the Netherlands with some online experience abroad.
“The last part, also about a third, is formed by small companies. We expect that few of the latter can meet the strict permit conditions,” Michael added.
However, Regulus Partners said the cooling off period, together with the strict financial and reliability requirements for operators, was likely to whittle down the number of licences granted “materially”.
The KSA confirmed it was currently “fine-tuning” application conditions and aiming to start taking licence applications on 1 July 2020.